Houston Astros manager Dusty Baker was absolutely livid over what went down in the 8th inning of Friday’s ALCS Game 5. He was still frustrated one day later, when he was asked about his emotions during the moment.
Baker was furious after Astros pitcher Bryan Abreu was ejected for hitting Texas Rangers outfielder Adolis Garcia with a pitch late in Game 5. Garcia was angry because he had hit a massive home run in his previous plate appearance, and he felt the Astros had thrown at him over that. Baker pointed out how absurd it would have been for the Astros to put an extra runner on when trying to keep the deficit at two runs ahead of the 9th inning of a pivotal playoff game.
Baker was ejected for arguing, but waited a long time to leave the dugout. He said Saturday that he stayed, essentially, because he felt he shouldn’t have been ejected to begin with.
Astros manager Dusty Baker on his thought process on not leaving the dugout immediately after being ejected in Game 5: "My thought process was I wasn't ready to go, because I shouldn't have been ejected in the first place."
— Matt Young (@Chron_MattYoung) October 21, 2023
“My thought process was I wasn’t ready to go, because I shouldn’t have been ejected in the first place,” Baker quipped.
The move to protest further may not have been gamesmanship on Baker’s part, but opposing manager Bruce Bochy certainly felt that it played a role in his team’s collapse a half-inning later. Baker probably did not mean it. He was just mad, but it worked out for him.
The ALCS is scheduled to resume Sunday, where the Astros will have two chances to close out the Rangers at home and advance to another World Series.
